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If customers have a complaint about an event occurring from today and they are unhappy with how it has been dealt with by a rail company, they can now appeal to the Rail Ombudsman.

To escalate it, they'll need to raise their concerns with the company first. If you're not happy with their response, have received a ‘deadlock letter’ or if your complaint has not been resolved within 40 working days, you can then take it up a step.

An adjudicator will then take an impartial look at the case - and come up with a suitable, fair resolution.

"I'm pleased to announce that the independent Rail Ombudsman is launching, as part of our commitment to improving customer experience," explained Jacqueline Starr, at the Rail Delivery Group.

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Passengers who are unhappy with how their grievances have been handled will be able to refer them to the ombudsman for a formal ruling (Image: PA)

"This new nationwide process will put the customer at the heart of resolving complaints and give them even greater confidence that we’re doing as much as we can to get to a fair outcome.”

The scheme fulfils a Government commitment to improve passengers’ experience on board Britain's rail networks.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones, said: “This is a significant step forward for passengers’ rights. This independent ombudsman will make sure passengers are heard and that they get a fair deal when train companies fall short.

“Rail firms must take this opportunity to improve their complaints process and to increase customer satisfaction.”

Anthony Smith, of independent watchdog Transport Focus, said the move is a welcome step forward for passengers.

“We expect the ability of the Rail Ombudsman to impose binding decisions to resolve complaints – and the fact it can charge train companies fees for doing this – will drive improvements to the way most train operators handle passenger complaints," he said.

“We will track the work and effectiveness of the new scheme very closely to make sure the Rail Ombudsman delivers measurable benefits for passengers."

What train firms will it cover?

These are the stages you'll have to follow to escalate a complaint to the new Ombudsman

The Rail Ombudsman will receive all disputed customer complaints on the rail networks listed below. It will either resolve them or put them in the hands of the body best-placed to deal with them.